(Updates with quotes, prices)
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday despite
positive factors such as a weaker dollar and steady oil prices,
and analysts said the market was looking for price triggers to
break the current trading range.
The catalyst could come from sharp changes in the currency
and the energy markets or heavy buying from investment funds,
betting on strong returns in the long term, they said.
Gold <XAU=> was quoted at $926.00/926.90 an ounce at 1320
GMT, against $925.90/926.70 in New York late on Thursday and a
record high of $1,030.80 on March 17.
"We are trading in a range and there is no sign that we are
going to break out of the current wide range in the near term,"
said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of marketing at Heraeus,
a German precious metals trading group.
"We have an all-time high in the oil price and a near record
high in the euro-dollar, but gold is still $100 away from its
own historic highs. Probably there are some more long positions
waiting to be sold, once gold goes up again," he added.
The dollar fell broadly, extending losses after
disappointing quarterly results from U.S. industrial
conglomerate General Electric fanned worries about the U.S.
economy.
The euro closed in on this week's record high, supported in
part by speculation that Group of Seven financial officials may
not make a coordinated effort to talk up the dollar when they
meet later in the day.
A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other
currencies and often lifts bullion demand. The metal is also
generally seen as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
Oil held around $110 a barrel, as a rebound in the dollar
against the euro and Saudi Arabia's comment that markets were
well supplied led investors to reduce positions, but firm
Chinese demand lent support.
"The $930-mark has proved a hard nut to convincingly crack
in the past few days, but I think gold is in for a fresh push
higher. It will probably need some weak U.S. data next week to
do it," said David Thurtell, metals analyst at BNP Paribas.
GOLD STRUGGLES
Gold struck a record high above $1,000 an ounce last month
but has since struggled to sustain the uptrend, with a broad
commodities pullback dragging the price down.
"The euphoria towards the precious metals complex, and
specifically gold, in the first quarter of this year has turned
sour over the past few weeks," Deutsche Bank said in a report.
"Before we recommend a long gold exposure, we would cite the
G7 Finance Ministers' meeting this weekend as a possible event
risk for the gold price, given the possibility of a statement
concerning the extreme weakness of the U.S. dollar and
consequently another pocket of U.S. dollar strength."
In other markets, U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM8>
fell $3.3 an ounce to $928.50 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $2,015/2,025 an ounce from
$2,024/2,032 in New York.
"The nature and extent of the South African power shortages
that brought (platinum) production to a halt for five days in
January are unlikely to be resolved in the near term given the
operational and capacity constraints," Barclays Capital said.
"We forecast prices to average $2,100/oz in Q2 as platinum
supplies are heavily dependent on South Africa and the delicate
power supply situation as well as mine safety concerns leave
mine output extremely susceptible to potential disruptions."
Silver <XAG=> was down 4 cents at $17.91/17.96. But
palladium <XPD=> rose $6.50 to $465/470.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Nigel Hunt)
